Originally Posted by
Melem2007
Hello all I am pretty new to Cycling. My wife and I have picked up cycling last summer. We both went to dicks and bought bike trainers (Blackburn tech mag 1). The question I have is how much tension do I need to have?
Enough the roller doesn't slip accelerating.
When I ride on the street and stop pedaling I cruise. When I am on the bike trainer and I stop pedaling my back wheel stops in about 7 seconds.
Yup. You'll need a better trainer with more flywheel mass if you don't want that. The stock Kurt Kinetic flywheel is 2-3X the size of others at over 6 pounds, and optional Pro upgrade adds another 12.
I normally ride in the big gear on the crank and the wheel i ride on the 2nd or 3rd lowest gear on the trainer. When I am pedaling I am rolling at about 18 mph on the trainer. Is that normal.
There's usually no relationship between dumb trainer "speed" and how things work on the road.
The Kurt Kinetic resistance curve simulates a 160 pound rider on a 1% grade, although nearly all real-world cycling situations are different.
I want to have as close as the same ride on the road to the trainer. Is that possible with the trainer I have?
You'll need a better trainer for that. Fluid with power requirements increasing with the cube of speed is more realistic than magnetic. Inertia from additional rotating mass is more realistic than less. Computer controlled trainers can vary resistance in a more realistic way and allow "coasting."
Kurt Kinetic with pro flywheel add-on on left vs. Performance Travel Trac fluid on right
